"Akhaten" redirects here. Not to be confused with Akhenaten.
2013 Doctor Who episode
233 – "The Rings of Akhaten"
Doctor Who episode
Official poster
Cast
Doctor
Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor
Companion
Jenna-Louise Coleman – Clara Oswald
Others
Emilia Jones – Merry Gejelh
Michael Dixon – Dave Oswald
Nicola Sian – Ellie Oswald
Chris Anderson – The Chorister
Aidan Cook – The Mummy
Karl Greenwood – Dor'een[1]
Production
Directed by
Farren Blackburn
Written by
Neil Cross
Produced by
Denise Paul Marcus Wilson (series producer)
Executive producer(s)
Steven Moffat
Caroline Skinner
Music by
Murray Gold
Series
Series 7
Running time
44 minutes
First broadcast
6 April 2013 (2013-04-06)
Chronology
← Preceded by "The Bells of Saint John"
Followed by → "Cold War"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)
"The Rings of Akhaten" is the seventh episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 6 April 2013. It was written by Neil Cross and directed by Farren Blackburn.
In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) takes his new companion Clara Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman) to the Rings of Akhaten, where several planetoids in a ring system are orbiting a larger planet. They attend a religious festival where the young Queen of Years, Merry Gejelh (Emilia Jones), is about to be sacrificed to the parasite of Akhaten.
Cross was asked to write the episode after the success of scripting and shooting "Hide", a later episode. "The Rings of Akhaten", as Clara's first trip to an alien world, was intended to show the wonders of the universe instead of the Doctor getting his new companion trapped somewhere less glamorous, a trend that had been observed in the history of the programme. The episode also explores Clara's backstory. Filmed entirely in-studio in late October 2012, pre-made moulds were utilised for the many different aliens to save money. "The Rings of Akhaten" was watched by 7.45 million viewers in the UK and received a mixed reception regarding its emotion and plot.
^"BBCOne, Doctor Who,Series 7 Part 2, The Rings of Akhaten". BBC One – Doctor Who. Archived from the original on 1 April 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
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